Sociable

SHIMLA: Fighting allegations relating to promotion of private universities over public ones, the government on Tuesday expressed incapability of setting up more institutions of higher learning.

Addressing media, education minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman said of the 19 private universities that were issued the letters of intent, 11 had been set up. He said the areas of Chamba, Mandi and Kullu districts were a priority, as no private university had been sanctioned at these places.

Fending off opposition charges of providing government land to these institutions, he said, "No such land had been allotted. Congress is leading a misinformation campaign, which is harming the new institutions and the students."

He said the state's gross enrollment ratio (GER) in colleges and universities was 18%, which was higher than the national level of 12% but the target was to raise it to 25% by 2016-2017.

Government uses 19% of its budget on education and to keep Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) functional, an annual grant of about Rs 50 crore was being provided.

He said the 11 private universities had enrolled 5,865 students for the current session and had provided employment to 2,044 people.

The education minister said the degree courses available in these universities were accepted all over the country. "To maintain education standards and to regulate the administrative systems, an education regulatory commission would be constituted soon," Dhiman said.

New Delhi, July 19 (IANS) With their strategic proximity growing in recent years, the US Tuesday pitched for more military sales to India and improved sharing of defence technologies.

'On the issue of defence technologies, the United States expects to continue developing and selling the world's most competitive products. We view these sales as important on their own terms, but also as a means to facilitate the work that the Indian and American militaries can do together -- whether patrolling the seas or providing relief to the victims of natural disasters,' US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to India, said here.

She was addressing a joint press conference with her counterpart S.M. Krishna after they held their second strategic dialogue here.

The joint statement issued by the two sides after the talks also spoke on the issue of US military sales and sharing of defence technologies with India.

'The two sides noted India's defence orders from U.S. companies have reached a cumulative value of over $8 billion in the last decade. The two sides noted that these sales reflect strengthened cooperation. Both sides also affirmed their desire to strengthen cooperation through technology transfer, and joint research, development, and production of defence items,' it said.

This was also a clear indication that the US had put behind it the disappointment of two American arms majors - Boeing and Lockheed Martin - losing out in the race for a $10.4 billion Indian Air Force order for 126 combat jets.

India has in the last decade bought eight Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for $2.1 billion and is expected to order four more of these planes for its navy. It has also bought six C-130J Super Hercules transporters for $1.2 billion and 10 C-17 heavy lift cargo planes for $4.1 billion along with their weapon suites. This apart it has bought a troop carrier, renamed INS Jalashwa, for amphibious operations and will soon be placing an order for 140 M777 artillery guns.

US firms are also in competition for India's requirement of 22 attack helicopters 15 heavylift cargo helicopters.

However, the sticking point in the military sales is the restriction on the supply of high-end systems, as India is yet to sign agreements such as the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA).

India is also not satisfied with the progress made by the US in lifting sanctions on its defence and space organisations by removing them from the restrictive entity list, a move that was announced by US President Barack Obama during his visit last November.

However, Clinton said the two sides had 'made progress' on matters of security cooperation during this round of strategic dialogue, which was initiated last year. 'But we can do more to strengthen the security of our nations and this region as a whole,' she said.

The secretary noted that maritime security was also 'a major concern, as we seek to protect sea lanes, combat piracy, and defend freedom of navigation' and applauded India's leadership in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean region, including its decision last week to chair the 2012 plenary of the piracy contact group operating off the Somalia coast.

The two nations also agreed to continue consultations on maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region in existing forums such as the defence policy group and its appropriate sub-groups. They also agreed to exchange views on promoting regional security architecture that enhances maritime security in the Indian Ocean

region.

The joint statement noted that India and the US welcomed the progress in bilateral defence cooperation and that their defence policy group, which had met in March, would meet in early 2012.

NEW DELHI: The fight over term 'app store' is intensifying. Even as it battles with Amazon over the use of the term in a court, Apple has sent a 'cease & desist' letter to GetJar, a web-based marketplace that serves apps for Android,Blackberry and Nokia phones.

Apple had registered the trademark App Store in 2008. GetJar, however, has made it clear that it "won't be subject to this kind of bullying" and will continue to use the term.

"We're not going to cease & desist. We were here long before Steve & Co. We were built by developers, to help developers... We're not going to take it! Steve Jobs isn't our dad," Patrick Mork, chief marketing officer at GetJar, wrote at the company's official blog.

Mork added, "GetJar was started by developers for developers in 2004. We started formally distributing free apps in early 2005 and are among the pioneers of the modern direct-to-consumer app store distribution space when the iPhone was just an R&D project in Steve Job's head. So it's not as if we were waiting around for Apple to come up with the idea of app stores."

On Friday, a judge in the US denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Amazon from using term 'app store'. The case is slated to go to trial in October.

Patrick Mork said that industry as a whole is moving towards an ecosystem that is closed. "The truth is really alarming. The ecosystem as a whole is becoming increasingly closed. Its character is dictated by larger companies exercising excessive force to get bigger shares of the pie," he wrote.

He added GetJar is starting a movement against the current apps trends. "We're hereby starting a Facebook cause called The Open And Free App Movement (OFAM) to encourage every pi**ed off developer, start-up, carrier, OEM or NGO who is fed up with this crap to make their voice heard," he wrote.

Space shuttle Atlantis, delayed almost to the last second by a computer glitch, left the launch pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and made its way into the history books.

After 135 flights in 30 years, it was the last space shuttle launch ever. And it was a spectacular sight to the estimated one million people who crowded around the space center to see it happen. The shuttle rose on a streak of flame that was almost blinding to see, going higher and higher and higher. Within a minute it punched a hole in the clouds above it and disappeared from sight, leaving a pillar of steam that slowly dissipated in Florida's muggy air.

"We got to witness something really, really special and something amazing," said William H. Gerstenmaier, head of NASA's space operations.

But it may be the last time America launches its own astronauts for many years. At the Kennedy Space Center, throngs of people applauded, cheered -- and in some cases wept. This part of Florida has lived in large part for space shuttle launches, and there is not a clear plan for what comes next.

Atlantis' launch – a dramatic spectacle in any event – became a nail-biter as well. Controllers had less than five minutes in which to get it off the pad while its target, theInternational Space Station, was orbiting overhead. Clouds, which had loomed over the area all morning, parted just in time, and the countdown clock went into its final moments. But with just 31 seconds to go before liftoff – it suddenly stopped.

The problem turned out to be small: a sensor had failed to confirm that an access arm on the shuttle's gantry had safely retracted. Controllers solved the problem by going relatively low-tech: they looked at the arm through a television camera on the launch pad. But three tense minutes passed while controllers satisfied themselves there was no actual danger. If the wait had been longer, it would have forced an expensive two-day launch delay.

"I think we launched with 58 seconds left," said Mike Leinbach, the launch director. "That's an eternity as far as I'm concerned."

Atlantis is now on its way to a final rendezvous with the space station, scheduled for midday Sunday. Its mission sounds fairly mundane: it is carrying a year's worth of preserved food, clothing spare parts and other supplies for the station's six crew members. It is scheduled to land on July 20 at 7:06 a.m., ET.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has imposed an import ban on products made at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' Mexico unit for violation of manufacturing practice rules, the Press Trust of India reported, citing a notice by the regulator.

In June, the FDA said it had issued a warning letter to the Mexican facility of the Indian drugmaker for violating manufacturing standards.

It had said failure to correct these may see the regulator refuse entry into the United States, a key export market for the firm, of products manufactured at Dr Reddy's Mexican facility.

Calls to a spokesman at Dr. Reddy's were not answered and there was no immediate reply to an email seeking comment.